JUNE 1955
Technical and Commercial Developments INSTRUMENTS I N THE DESERT P
. I
Out in Nevada, where the sixth continental test series of nuclear devices has just been completed, Joint Test Organization (joint among AEC, Department of Defense, and F’ederal Civil Defense Administration) is achieving a new high in precision instrumentation and electronic engineering. Dedicated to finding “how atomic devices operate and what the effects are,” nuclear scientists there are faced with the release of a lot of energy in a very short time. Their problem: to get information and get it out of the immediate area before device, instrument, and everything else mushrooms skyward. It’s no wonder their common unit is mega this or mega thatcameras with framing rates up to 7 million per second; electronic recorders operating within 0.00000001 second, and the like. S-evada Test Site came into being January 1951, when accelerated weapons testing demanded a continental site, cost in time and money for tests a t the Pacific Proving Ground generally being prohibitive. (Because of necessity for public protection from fall-out, the Pacific site .is still used for devices of high yield, with NTS being limited to those of “considerably less” than 100 kilotons T N T equivalent.) Forty-five atomic devices have been fired in Xevada to date; more will undoubtedly follow. Test area a t NTS consists of two desert basins in the southern tip of Nevada-Frenchman Flat and Yucca Basinwhich lie in a roughly north-south line with each other and are separated by a low range of hills. Frenchman Flat has been used only occasionally since the 1951 series-always for air drops and usually for the more extensive military effects tests. Yucca Basin, meanwhile, has been laid out for 10 firing areas, although not all have been developed as yet. Each firing area which has been developed has several permanent instrument stations in addition to a wide variety of temporary stations and test structures which serve one shot only or at most a single series. JJ7here permanent installations are close to ground zero, concrete, steel, lead, and a good mound of earth topped with a stabilizing coat of asphalt are the necessary materials of construction. Xot only must these bunkers be blast- and heatproof; they also need be radiationproof if photographic film is not to be fogged, gases in electronic tubes ionized, and signal transmission generally fouled UP. Most useful information on atomic device performance occurs within the detonation area itself in those few microseconds immediately before and after detonation begins, To record these phenomena, measurements must be made in millionths of a second or less, and detector instruments are placed on the tower (in tower shots) close to the atomic device. While they are vaporized almost instantly, detectors do transmit the all important signals to instrument bunkers before they are destroyed. Coaxial cables lead from these detectors to the instrument bunker. They run direct from tower to bunker rather than down the tower and along the ground, so signals reach the
bunker before radiation shortcuts cables and before cables themselves are destroyed. Some of these signals actuate oscilloscopes, and the oscilloscope pattern then becomes the raw data from 1% hich results are interpreted. Since this pattern is transitory, it is photographed for the permanent record. These electronic circuits operate extremely rapidly-within a few hundred-millionths of a second-and light intensity must be high to “write” a record in such limited time. Necessary intensities, however, would badly fog the film between the time the instrument is
W h i c h way to ground zero?
turned on and the signal arrives, unless precautions are taken. To solve this dilemma, the electron beam is reduced in intensity and deflected off the screen prior to zero time. At the last possible instant, this intensity must be raised to the required value. By an ingenious arrangement, the coaxial cable from tower to bunker is tapped and the signal itself triggers an intensifier. The signal, meanwhile, travels through a greater length of cable and arrives a t the scope t o be recorded a microsecond or so after beam intensity has been increased. While the record is short, the screen retains the image sufficiently long to make possible a permanent recording on film. I n addition to its extensive instrumentation, the detonation itself is used to test new instruments. Consider the problem (Continued on page 9 A )
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
7A
it’s easy as ABC t o use
PFIZER FUMARIC ACID for alkyd resins, rosin adducts, polyesters
.
The simplicity of using Pfizer Fumaric Acid is only one of its many advantages. It offers shorter drying time for alkyd resins, increased viscosity for rosin adducts. In purified form, it’s an ideal acidulant for foods and pharmaceuticals. Write for Technical Bulletin 46 for complete information.
I
CHAS. PFIZER & CO., INC.
Chemical Sales Divzsion
Manufacturing Chemists f o r Over 100 Years
I
630 Flushins Ave Brooklyn 6 , N Y. Branch OfOces Chicago, I l l , Son Franc~sco,Calif.; Vernon. C a l i f , Atlanta, Ga.
I
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where beet sugar is produced. With the advent of some new resins in the past 5, years, ion exchange is again receiving a great deal of attention, due to the more effective acid exchangers that permit processing a t temperatures near 95” F. For the first time, cane sugar factories in hot climates now have an opportunity to get into the act, using resins that do not expose the juice to acid conditions. The beauty of the process is that it boosts sugar recovery, turns out an economical product, and makes an almost white sugar suitable for candies, ice cream, jellies, and preserves. I n cases where the new sugar was substituted for regular granulated sugar in the manufacture of clear, hard candy, grained mints, grained marshmallow nougats, and starch and pectin jellies, it had little effect on the color and texture of the product. Turbidity of the ion exchange sugar is dispersed during cooking; it is a “strong” sugar that requires no changes in candy formulation, nor any special precautions during candymaking. After long periods of storage, no difference has been noted in graining, loss of moisture, texture, or deterioration of “ion exchange” candies. Ion exchange sugar probably won’t compete economically with turbinado sugar in the manufacture of chocolate bars, chocolate coatings, or highly colored candies such as fudge and caramel, but it has an edge on turbinado as a direct consumption product. And dark turbinado sugar can’t be used in light colored confectionery goods. Actually, the new sugar’s quality is intermediate between that of turbinado and IT COULD IN standard granulated sugar. Ordinary crystallization methods of sugar recovery are The thought of getting 8y0 more sugar from limited to a great extent by impurities in the sirup, mast of a ton of cane-at cent a pound less than which are salts of mineral and organic acids. Ion exchange the standard granulated product-is enough has a decided advantage to the sugar manufacturer, because to set anyone’s sweet tooth on edge. And the it can remove most of these impurities and increase the sugar chances are good that your sweet tooth won’t notice the yield. There is no change in the initial stages of sugar color difference of a new direct consumption sugar recently processing; raw cane juice is still treated v ith lime and then produced with ion exchange methods by the Southern clarified by heating. Utilization Research Branch, USDA. At this point the clarified juice percolates through a Many attempts have been made to remove organic and column of solid, granular, anion exchange resins, which ties mineral acid impurities from cane juice by the use of ion up the organic and mineral acids and removes them from soluexchange resins, but earlier resins on the market liberated tion. Finally the resins become exhausted and are then enough acids to cause excessive sugar inversion. The only washed free of the juice and regenerated by caustic soda perfactories that have employed this technique commercially colation. Meanwhile, the juice has turned alkaline because were beet sugar factories which could chill the juice belonit contains free bases of the original salts; this juice gets a ’70”F. prior to ion exchange in order to minimize sugar losses. second percolation in columns containing weakly acidic Cooling 1% ater temperatures in tropical and subtropical climates naturally restricted the process only to factories cation exchange resins, and it comes out of the process essentially neutral. (Keakly acidic resins keep sugar inversion a t a minimum.) The cation exchange column, when exhausted, can be washed with water and regenerated with sulfuric acid. As in the case of many other ion exchange processes, the resins are used over and over many times. Hooked onto the end of the process is a third column, or cleanup unit, designed to give additional purification and color EVAPORATOR removal. The last column readily takes PRE-COOLER out the small amount of acids that pass ANION CATION ANION REMOVAL REMOVAL CLEANUP through the first column; it contains D YITHOUT (COLOR 8. mixture of resins, some particularly adapted SUCROSE NzCOMPOUNDS for color removal. Caustic soda also reINVERSION) REMOVED) generates this .column when the resins are Direct consumption sugar produced by ion exchange methods has a exhausted. quality intermediate between that of turbinado and standard granuJuice from the ion exchange process can be lated sugar. New process boosts cane sugar yield 8 % and produccs
of locating ground zero and determining yield of nuclear explosions. These are two problems civil defense workers in American communities would be faced with in making early estimates of damage. I n the photo are several “gadgets” that Federal Civil Defense Administration tested during Operation Cue (the widely publicized and often postponed “open” shot this spring) for locating ground zero, based on scorching by the detonation’s thermal radiation. Made of fiber, the top sphere is graduated in meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude, which permit location of the scorched areas and hence direction of ground zero. The two lower spheres (one of which is protected temporarily with a plastic cover) use the same principle but are made of other heat-sensitive materials. To the right at the middle level is a simple pinhole camera, inside which is a heat-sensitive screen. Graduations on the screen show direction of ground zero. T o the left is another variation, in which light is reflected and concentrated by the slots onto the heat-sensitive material inside. And so it goes in the Nevada desert, where the U. S. seeks to improve its nuclear weapon offensive and defensive position, When or what the next test series will consist of is only a matter of conjecture, but this much is certain: InstruG.H.B. mentation will play a major role.
BE
THE BAG
only half the normal amount of final molasses June 1955
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
(Continued on page 11 A )
9A
Celite% diatomite structure steps up performance
-
in paints plastics- polishes MICROSCOPIC PARTICLES
of Celite* d o a man-size job of stepping up performance for many of America's leadi n g products. Here is h o w the unique structure of Celite Diatomite Powders may add more beauty, longer life, greater efficiency toyotlr products, too. For example, the spiny, irregularly shaped particles contribute surface characteristics which make them the outstanding flatting agent in paints. Again, because of their structure, Celite particles are widely used as a
mild, non-scratching abrasive in finest quality auto, silver and glass polishes. Or consider molded plastics, where the strength and durability of Celite particles add life and beauty to surface finish. Moreover, Celite particles i n mass have great bulk per unit weight, so they are invaluable for extending, dispersi n g or fluffing up dry powders. They have high absorptive capacity, too, so they keep powders free-flowing, they serve as a medium for shipping
DI Johns-Manville JOHNS-MANVILLII
..hundreds of other products
or storing liquids in a dry form. Which of the many Celite advantages can you use t o build product performance or cut production costs? A Johns-Manville Celite Engineer will gladly discuss your problem, without obligation. For his services or m o r e information, simply write JohnsManville, Box 60, New Y o r k 16, N. Y. I n Canada, 1 9 9 Bay Street, T o r o n t o 1, Ontario. *&lite is Johns-Manville'e registered Trade Mark for it8 dlatomaceous slllca products.
CELlTE
INDUSTRY'S MOST VERSATILE MINERAL FILLER
P L O D U C T S
For further information, circle number 10 A on Readers' Service Card, Page 129 A
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*
t
treated in the same evaporators and standard vacuum pans used for conventional raw sugar manufacture. The sirup’s high purity permits an additional sugar “strike,” or full pan of crystals. When the centrifugals are operated to produce a sugar of larger grain, which is washed with steam, the final product is sufficiently pure and white for bagging and marketing. USDA researchers who piloted the process a t the Audubon Sugar Factory, LSU (in cooperation with Godchaux Sugars, Inc.) say an ion exchange plant for a factory grinding 2500 tons of cane per day would cost around $500,000. Ion exchange produces only half as much final molasses as a regular plant, but it is cheaper to operate and gives a higher sugar yield. Producers in the South, they say, might up their gross- return as much as $3 per ton of cane with the new process; cost of ion exchange sugar production should not exceed about $2 per ton. Puerto Rican companies are already showing interest in the process because ion exchange sugar is entirely satisfactory for their local markets. SURB has dismantled its pilot plant and shipped it to Puerto Rico for additional experiments while the Louisiana mills are down waiting for the next H.W.H. harvest period. It’s almost in the bag!
is to increase the content of cyclic ethers like tetrahydrofuran and p-dioxane, whose ability to complex dissolved titanium salts might help to prevent formation of the viscous anodic film which sometimes occurs with the present bath, and which promotes unwanted electropolishing. A second move would be t o include a supporting electrolyte which would improve bath conductivity without actually taking part in the goings on.
A LID FOR TITANIUM
. *
Titanium, seeming harbinger of a bright new metals world a t one time, is known now to have feet of clay in certain respects. One way out of some of these difficulties might be to electroplate titanium with other metals [ J . Electrochem. Soc., 100, 485 (1953)]. But titanium does not submit readily to conventional electrodeposition practice. EiTorts to remove the “wonder” from this aspect of the wonder metal are currently afoot a t Stanford Research Institute, where a group directed by Morris Eisenberg is seeking a commercial method for electroplating titanium with other metals. TT7hy plate titanium? For one thing, its high temperature oxidation resistance is poor; above 800” F. the metal picks up substantial amounts of both oxygen and nitrogen. Chrome or nickel plating might relieve this shortcoming. Titanium bearing surfaces tend to seize and gall, and titanium parts cannot be joined by soldering; copper or silver plating might help here. Relatively good copper coatings have been laid down experimentally ; their adherence seems to depend on mechanical keying to the underlying titanium. This means the surface to be plated must be rough, must be covered uniformly with relatively deep pits. Herein lies a problem. Chemical etching will not do, as it yields a uniform, relatively unpitted surface; further, it involves evolution of hydrogen, which causes embrittlement when picked up by titanium. Anodic etching seems the best answer but it, too, poses problems-problems which have drawn much of SRI’s attention to date. Anodic etching must take place in an almost nonaqueous bath if excessive chemical attack is to be avoided. Eisenberg’s group has done best so far with one made up of ethylene glycol, tetrahydrofuran, hydrofluoric acid, and small amounts of water. Glycol is used because it dissolves the hydrofluoric acid and has a satisfactory dielectric constant. Hydrofluoric acid yields a soluble titanium salt, and the water content improves bath conductivity: While this bath works, SRI is on the trail of a better one. One approach June 1955
Constant temperature bath used to control temperature rise of nonaqueous solutions in Lucite cell in which polarization of titanium is studied
When anodic etching begins, it is accompanied by significant chemical etching which decreases as current density rises to the point above which the process obeys Faraday’s law. Eisenberg finds that this chemical attack continues a t a small but significant and roughly constant rate after Faraday’s law comes into play. This means that when rate of anode dissolution is plotted against operating current densities, the resulting curve can be used t o evaluate the chemical activity of the particular batb a t hand. This is a useful tool, in that it takes some of the “hit or miss” out of the search for an optimum electrolytic etching bath for titanium. I n a further attempt t o pin down this chemical action the SRI group made a n anodic polarization study of titanium, using a specially designed cell in which nonpolarized nickel electrodes served as the reference. Most important discovery here is that when current density reaches a certain value, titanium anode potential jumps in less than a minuteand without further increase in applied current densityfrom a 0.1- to 0.2-volt range to a 1.2- to 2.0-volt range, depending upon bath temperature and composition. I n the electrochemical world the phenomenon is spectacular. Jbst as noteworthy is the fact that the jump in potential occurs a t a current density just above that a t which chemical attack reaches a minimum. One conclusion is that titanium cannot be anodically etched in a satisfactory manner until its potential shifts in the positive direction by 1.2 to 2.0 volts. As temperature rises (SRI has worked a t up to 70” C.) the “critical” current density a t which the necessary jump in potential occurs rises too; higher (more costly) operating current is thus needed. But also as temperature rises, cur-
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
(Continued on page 13 A ) 11A
Fitt.ings stay fastened in Corrosive Acid Spray PROBLEM: Selecting fastenings that would hold pipe fittings together in a unit that is constantly subjected to a hot sulphuric acid spray. Bolts were formerly falling apart in foiir months’ time.
REMEDY: Use of nuts and bolts made of wrought HASTELLOY alloy C.
RESULT: Fastenings made of HASTELLOY alloy C are still holding man3 months after ordinarj bolts had to be replaced. HASTELLOY alloy C is the most unixersally corrosion-resistant alloy available today. In addition to aerated sulphuric acid, it has excellent resistance to such strong oxidizers as nitric acid, wet and dry chlorine, and acid solutions of salts. It is available in nearly all standard commercial forms. For more information on HASTELLOY alloi C, get in touch \+ith the nearest Haynes Stellite Company Office.
:
H A Y N E S
S T E L L I T E
C O M P A N Y
A Division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation
rn
TRADE-MARK
General Offices and Works, Kokorno, Indiana
L‘OVS Chicago
ices . Cleveland . Detroit . HoustonSalesLosOffAngeles
New York
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“Hayner” and “Hasfelloy” a r e registered frade-marks of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporafion
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
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.
rent distribution in the bath becomes more uniform. Titanium parts that would be met in commercial electroplating practice might often present sharply discontinuous etching surfaces, sharp points and edges, and the like; in the etching bath, areas of high current density tend t o form a t such points and unwanted electropolishing takes place. Baths in which more uniform current density distribution (better “throwing power”) can be achieved are thus desirable, and SRI finds that throwing power depends on bath composition as well as on temperature. These polarization studies thus offer another aid to selection of the best anodic etching bath. They show also that for a given bath composition etching temperature must strike an economic balance between current requirement and bath throwing power. Finally, these studies reveal a current density range above which electropolishing sets in a t any temperature, thus putting an effective upper limit on working current density. Eisenberg feels his group has pinned down optimum current density for etching titanium anodically prior to electroplating. This fact and the other data now in hand allow a much more systematic search for the best possible etching bath than was possible a t the outset. Next objective is a “striking” (electroplating) bath with enough “microthrowing” power t o fill the titanium surface depressions completely with plating metal, and thus t o achieve the best possible mechanical keying; conventional cyanide baths used currently to K.RI .R. deposit copper do not seem up to this job.
HOT S T U F F ON THE WATERWAYS There’ll be plenty of liquid sulfur floating up the Mississippi River after Coyle Lines goes into action with three new “thermos bottle” barges recently loaded by Freeport Sulphur Co. a t Port Sulphur, La. Both companies plan to break all records for water movement of liquid sulfur by setting a new mark: upward of 5000-ton lots on a 1100-mile haul. Shipments will originate a t Port Sulphur (below New Orleans) and wind up a t St. Louis, Mo., in the hands of National Lead’s Titanium Division. Liquid sulfur shipments aren’t new, but it is only recently that users of sulfur have gone in for it in a big way. For a number of years Freeport and other sulfur producers have shipped liquid sulfur in railroad tank cars to consumers as far away as Pennsylvania. Olin-Mathieson has been trucking the liquid from its sour gas plants in Arkansas to its acid plant in Bossier City, La. Freeport was the first to start water-borne shipments of liquid sulfur in 1948, when it was faced with the problem of moving sulfur from its Grande Ecaille mine to Port Sulpliur, a distance of 10 miles. The trip along the company’s shallow canal limited barge capacity to 600 tons. After Freeport’s Bay St. Elaine and Garden Island domes went into production, the company increased its fleet to include seven 1000-ton barges for the 75-mile haul to Port Sulphur. During the same year, Coyle Lines became the first commerical carrier to haul liquid sulfur by water-from the Moss Bluff, Tex., mines of Texas Gulf Sulphur Co. to customers in Houston. This short-haul service which averages 15 trips a month will be doubled in the future, according to Coyle officials. As we’re going to press, 260°F. sulfur is moving up the “Ole Miss,” 12 times further than any previous water shipment, in barges lined internally with 4 inches of foam glass covered by a thin layer of asbestos board. Other companies June 1955
have used exterior insulation for short hauls but the trick lies with internal insulation that keeps skin temperatures low on the tanks. The barges built by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. for Coyle Lines, Inc., and designed by their naval architect Frank A. Geffs, have rectangular tanks which are actually a part of the hull structure (patents pending). Upper decks of the barges are smooth; other cargoes can be transported on the return trip down river. To make certain that the sulfur doesn’t solidify in transit, each barge has its own steam boiler, Insulation and heating equipment, they say, accounts for more than one sixth of the barge’s total cost.
Two of the “thermos bottle” barges, completely equipped with boilers, occupy a space greater than a football field. Rectangular tanks (left) are insulated with 4 inches of foam glass covered by a thin layer of asbestos board. Heating coils keep sulfur liquid at 260” F. during shipment
One of the barges (without a bow) is 280 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 11 feet deep, with a 7.6-foot draft. Th‘e other two are slightly longer (300 feet) with rakes a t one end so that all three may be butted together to make an integrated fleet. These $300,000 barges, including $50,000 for insulation costs and $10,000 for the boiler and heating coils, will be pushed along the river by a $750,000 towboat. Kational lead is spending approximately $500,000 for its facilities a t St. Louis to handle and store sulfur in liquid form. Kational’s plant will have a steel dock structure on the river, some 170 feet off-shore with seven access landings for different river stages. The 622-foot dock, built by Vollmar Construction Co., is equipped with flexible 6-inch steam-jacketed unloading lines. On-shore storage facilities include two 60-foot-diameter, insulated steel tanks, 30 feet high, each with a net capacity of 4600 tons. A gravity-flow feed system will supply National’s acid plant with liquid sulfur. The trio of barges is scheduled t o arrive twice a month a t St. Louis to be unloaded by one man operating a 75-hp. motor-driven pump. With the new installation, National Lead Co. can unload its sulfur shipment in about 15 hours, draining each barge a t a rate of 500 tons per hour. Freeport plans to use an 8-inch rubber hose for loading the barges; Freeport’s hose has a rated capacity well above 500 tons per hour. Now that barges will carry their own heating system, this new development may be the forerunner of liquid shipments traveling over other waterways, and possibly across the oceans. H .W .H
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
(Continued on page 14 A )
13A
_JUNE _ _1955 ----
THIN!KI,NG OF COMPILING A DlREC DRY? Think carefully, advises Stanford Research Institute, which has just released its 100-page “Directory of Western Chemical Producers.” It’s a time-consuming venture, SRI reports several thousand dollars-after undertaking
one year-and the project. Born of necessity, the directory represents the first up-todate compilation since 1948 of western chemical products, producers, and plant locations. The western chemical industry has shown such a tremendous growth in the past few years that individual consumers and producers have had difficulty in keeping abreast of the many changes. For this reason SRI, in cooperation with Western Chemical Market Research Group (WCMRG) of San Francisco, undertook compilation of the directory as a public service. Cooperating groups include western chambers of commerce, western editorial office of AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY publications, western office of McGraw-Hill chemical publications, industrial development boards, government bureaus, market research groups, and some 600 western chemical and allied products companies.
Where’s Moose Head Lime Corp.? Bill Sutphen, left; Robert Miller, right
Samples, specifications and detailed information upon request
Circle No. 14 A on Readers’ Service Card, page 129 A
14 A
More than 475 chemical products are listed in the directory. These products are manufactured by some 350 companies in over 450 western plants in 11 western states, three western provinces of Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii. Wherever possible, the directory lists only “prime” chemicals or chemical products; it does not include mixtures and formulations. A unique feature of the directory is a complete producer section, listing western chemical producers, plant locations, and specific chemical products manufactured a t each plant. This section permits a t a glance a rapid assessment of a company’s entire western chemical producing operations. Production capacity data by specific chemical product and number of employees have also been included where the producer has authorized release of that information. Work on the directory was conducted by the Economics Research Division of SRI. Project manager was Robert C. Miller; project leader, William T. Sutphen. “For a (Continued on page 16 A )
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Vol. 47, No. 6
+
I
a quarter o f a century separates these DICALITE pictures i
They didn't co'ntinue very long- the horse-and-wagon, hand-quarrying methods of our early days. For Dicalite was founded on the idea of development, of promoting new uses for that little-known (in 1930) material, diatomite, and working out improved processing methods. The succeeding 25 years have, we believe, proved the soundness of that idea. Today diatomite. . . also called diatomaceous silica, diatomaceous earth or D.E. . . . has important uses in more than 200 industries, and Dicalite has helped in the pioneering and development of many of these uses. Dicalite products, which now number more than 50, have a valued place in the brewing, pharmaceutical, chemical, sugar, food, paint, paper and other large industries, as filteraids, fillers, insulation and in other capacities. And Dicalite itself has grown-because of this basic idea of developmentfrom 1930's one deposit, one plant, to 1955's four processing plants and deposits in three states. Four locations, four plants, served by four different railroad systems, insure a continuing, dependable supply of the diatomaceous materials upon which many industries rely.
.*.
GREAT
LAKES DIATOMACEOUS MATERIALS
* .
DlCALlTE DIVISION, GREAT LAKES CARBON CORP.
.
612 SOUTH FLOWER ST., 1 0 s ANGELES 17, CALlFORNlA
For further information, circle number 15 A on Readers' Service Card, page 129 A
June 1955
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
15 A
N E W MOTOR PROTECTION ingeniious
with
FOIL AT EACH END OF THE MOTOR DIRECTS AIR A N D DEFLECTS WATER-ventrifoil directs air around bearing housings and into fans on the rotor. By forming a “vestibule” between the bracket openings and the fan inlet, water is deflected and
separated from the air stream. ,
p VENTRIFOIL Securely fastened to inside of bracket to direct air and deflect water.
I
AIR PASSAGE
Air is brought in at bottom but enters motor only through top half of deflector. CURVED WATER FOIL A curved projection of the Ventrifoil
is concentric with the shaft and prevents entrance of water. PROTECTED VESTIBULE
project of this type, one has to be a chemical technologist, a researcher with infinite patience, and a part-time sleuth,’’ reports Bill Sutphen. “If you don’t have the last two qualities, you’ll develop them soon.’’ Because of the project’s magnitude, SRI decided data could be collected most efficiently through questionnaires. A questionnaire was prepared in cooperation with SRI’s applied social science research group, with a careful eye toward stimulating interest and enlisting cooperation of chemical producers. Questionnaires were sent to over 1100 possible western chemical producers. Because of the number of new companies entering the field and old ones dropping out and because of expansions in product lines in the 5-year period since 1948, many more companies were canvassed than are now listed, Members of WCMRG took on the arduous task of getting in contact with some 600 nonresponding companies to find out if they were indeed chemical producers. This meant searching for companies with such fabulous names as Red Rock Fisheries, Moose Head Lime Corp., and Crow’s Xest Pass Coal Co. Product information for the remaining nonresponding companies was developed from lengthy correspondence, numerous phone calls, and personal contacts by the directory staff. To give completeness and authenticity to directory listings, all information received was cross-checked carefully. I n one case, a bona fide producer with two western chemical plants claimed no chemical production a t all. Another company actually reported ownership of a plant belonging to a second company. I n still another instance, a producer whose specific products were listed in a government publication wanted only a general product listing. I n general, however, cooperation of western chemical companies in returning product information was excellent. Stanford Research Institute believes the directory mill provide a useful service to western chemical producing and consuming industries and to eastern firms looking toward the West for expansion. The institute has initiated a filing system to record data about new companies entering the western chemical industry and plant expansions of present companies, Ti-ith an eye to a future revision. G.H.B.
After entering bracket openings,air flows upward through a protected chamber within bracket before reaching motor windings.
-
ALL New U
m
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UNICLOSED TYPE H m
MOTORS
In addition to Ventrifoil, U.S. Motors’ new NEMA dimensioned Type H motor embodies a host of revolutionary exclusive features, such as improved asbestos-protected windings, Lubriflush transverse lubrication, normalized castings, solid cast rotor; all directed t o the objectives of longer motor life and more efficient power.
Mail Coupon f o r informative full-color Bulletin t c--------------------~
iI or Milford, Conn.
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I I I
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No.
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on
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CHICKEN FEATHERS CONTINUED Since we reported on Mellon Institute’s work in improving bulk qualities of chicken feathers as a substitute for water-fowl feathers [IND.ENG.CHEM.,47, 17 A (October 1954)], we understand that Alexander Smith, Inc., has worked out a somewhat different process to do the same thing. Both processes were developed under Quartermaster Corps research contracts; both depend on putting a curl in the other\\-ise straight chicken feather, then fixing the curl. Mellon uses sodium phosphate treatment, followed by a dialdehydealum fix. Alexander Smith soaks the feathers in a dilute sulfuric acid-alum solution which is later neutralized with soda ash. In reporting its process, Alexander Smith advises that it is also good for restoring bulk qualities to duck feathers which have been stored compressed for several years. THE EDITORS
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Vol. 41, .No. 6
